Sceptre is a company better know for their monitors then webcams. But, with the recent surge in the popularity of them, they have decided to dive in and try their hands at it. Sceptre's entry? The SVC 300 PC Camera. The SVC 300 is certainly among the cheapest, if not the cheapest, webcam out there at a price of CAN$30 (after CAN$30 rebate.) So how does it perform? Read on!

Rizenet has some of those schweet Mushkin's PC150 Revision 3 2-2-2 RAM! Not gonna see much of those here coz it's expensive, but I recently got hold of 2 sticks of Transcend RAM, using the Mosel Vitelic chips used in the Rev 2 Mushkins!!! This baby does 2-2-2 at 133MHz on my KT7!!! I know it ain't much, but it does rox!

After Kyle, Mr PC Pro now whips up a review of the EPOX 8KTA3 Mobo! From those tow reviews, it looks like one sweet deal, but I think I'll get the KT7A-Raid!

Tuplay.Com has just posted up an in-depth review of Kodak's DC240 digital camera. The DC240 features USB, optical zoom, and an LCD display, for a sub-$350 price tag!

"For a little while now, digital cameras have become one of those products that everyone is amazed by. The prospect of being able to see your pictures just seconds after you take them, deleting the ones you don't want, and keeping the ones you do want, is the big cause behind all of this. Many manufacturers have gotten their hands in the game, and with the digital camera market being so popular, how can you blame them? The only problem with this is that many manufacturers are putting out cameras that are just plain junk..."

"Thanks goes out to Kyle for the review, he supplied us with some VARY interesting news which includes firing steve, raping his wife while she is sleeping, gay porn, his secret life as a pedophile, using various drugs, sex in general, strange business tactics, and he also made fun of blind people. Read on... "

Sure to be a fun read...

More on the subject of interviews, TweakTown has an interview with Sam Dennis of the Rydium Network, questioning the status of the network in light of other Internet networks closing down or splitting because of poor economy figures in many "dotcom" companies. This interview is to show you, the visitor of Rydium member sites, what the network is intending to do to handle the recent drop in economy which has been making Internet advertisers more weary and less willing to invest in Internet advertising networks such as the Rydium Network which result in less funds for the network to play with. Yes, it is a sad time indeed...

Adrian's Rojak Pot has some news scoops for you; you can read them here.All of them concern Chaintech products:

"Again I used a drill PRESS. I made a pilot hole (after measuring and laying it out) going through both the chassis and the cover. Viola! Now you can center the drill bit over each piece and cut out the circles individually I hope! File down (or use the Dremel but be careful!!!!!), to not only remove the burrs from the hole edges, but also make it as smooth as Britney Spears’ bottom. Done? Good."

Legion Hardware have taken a look back at Intel's processors over the years. It looks to be a very interesting article, I'd definitely check it out if I were you.

Between Comdex Las Vegas 2000 and MacWorld San Francisco 2001, a host of USB 2.0 devices have been announced. Don't get too excited, though; vendors do not plan to ship them until mid-March. In the mean time, let's have a sneak peek at these next generation products... More info here.

"The year is 2341 and now you have been chosen to fight in the Grand Tournament. You will fight to the death against the most violent and skilled warriors. Why do you fight? For entertainment of course, you’re a Gladiator of the future and people will pay billions to see you fight and die! Its not made clear why you are fighting or what you’re fighting for. Perhaps you are a mad man, bred by Liandri scientists to fight and die without question. Perhaps you are a military specialist, fighting in the Tournament to prove your abilities and win fame and fortune among the Aligned Worlds. Perhaps you are a member of the Necris. The fact is that regardless of who or what you are, you’re just entered for two reasons, one to kill and the other to die."

The "Still No Burner, but got an Enermax 431" Edition...Posted On Wednesday, 17 January, 2001 @ 5:57PM SGP Time by Spinach

Well I suppose no VCD's is a fair trade for an Enermax 431 Badboy! Nah na na na naah, I've got an Enermax. Sorry this is the best thing that's hit Australia since 14.4 modems, haha. Nah, we're really at the cutting edge of technology down here at the ass end of the world, 33.3 modems...OOOH, AAAAH. Enough of me paying out the country of my origin, news time....

The [H]ard boys are back with another review, this time they thrash Epox's KT133A solution...

EPoX? Now that is name we have not concerned ourselves with for a while. We have used EPoX's boards in the past and were not really impressed. They recently contacted us and said they had something they wanted to show off. I figured either their marketing guy was smoking crack or their engineers had finally pulled a performance board out of their bag of tricks. Just for the record, their marketing guy was NOT smoking crack.

Here's proof that Aussies are on the front edge of techo stuff. Tweaktown take a hell detailed look at Intergrated chipsets for Intel chips. "He said Intergrated intergrated, ewwwwwww...."

Included chipsets in the lineup is the SiS 630E, VIA PM133 and the Intel 815E. The article includes information about how integration works, with lots of benchmarks testing FPU, ALU, Memory bandwidth, D3D, OpenGL and so on. They used the following motherboards for testing each chipset Jetway 630CF (SiS 630E), VIA VT5278F PM133 Reference Board (VIA PM133) and EPOX 3S25A (Intel 815E). Which chipset is king of the hill?

A whole program devoted to defragging....I prefer fragging programs myslef!

Diskeeper runs on Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000 and is now Microsoft Certified for Windows 2000 (I don't remember needing their blessing to do anything). Anyhow, with all of that out of the way, let's take a look at the program...

GideonTech has just finished a review on the Logitech MouseMan Wheel with Optical Technology. Its one the sleekest (is that a word?) units we have come across. Fits very well in your hands!

"One of the immediate impressions that this mouse makes is the oddly shaped design. The mouse is a lot longer than any of the other mechanical mice we have used. The left and right buttons at the top of the mouse are long also thus eliminating any missed clicks in the heat of a frag fest! "

A solution to not being able to get DH3 through an airport - the Pro/Mini Lan box :

"The Pro/Mini is a Very small version of DH3 using lots of the technologies I whipped up in DH3, but on a much smaller scale. the Mini will be all about being small, compact, light, and a sorta sleeper box. But it will also be a power house machine, and have some big time cooling being done. This is also going to be a KEY test box for some hardware ProCooling will be reviewing in the near future."

OMIGOSH! It's already 3.00AM down here and I've just finished updating the heart of the site, the Coolest Case Gallery! Meant to say that! If you disagree, LEMME KNOW!While I'm at it, here's some newz!

"Kanie was the first company to produce an affordable all copper heat Sink. The Hedgehog is very similar in size to the Alpha PAL 6035. As far as the design and construction, the Hedgehog is crude in comparison the Alpha PAL 6035. The Hedgehog’s fins are stamped out of copper sheet and pressed into the base. So why is the Hedgehog a top performer if it’s so crude and inefficient compared to the Alpha Heat Sinks??"

Legion Hardware reviews a racing game by the title Colin Mcrae Rally 2. I've always like racing games, so I'm checking this out!

"Have you ever dreamed of being in the drivers seat for one of the world’s most exciting motor sport events? The chances are that you will never really get to, but there is one way you can experience this adrenalin rush without leaving your computer desk. The most realistic rally driving experience yet is here to help make your dream a reality. Colin Mcrae Rally 2 is the answer to your dreams, Colin Mcrae Rally 2 puts you in the front seat of the worlds most intense motor sport. Rather than race directly against your opponent, it’s a race against the clock and every second is crucial. Colin Mcrae Rally 2 offers you the chance to race on the world’s most famous tracks, these are no ordinary race tracks. Expect an array of terrains, every corner has a surprise waiting for you whether that is ice, snow, sand, gravel or even mud."

Here's sumthing for you peeps into watercooling! Brian Lain sends word of a tablet that can give your water cooling reservoir a little bit of jazz! Here's a cut-&-dump of the mail;

"They're little tablets that dissolve in water and come in your choice of fluorescent yellow/green, fluorescent red, and non-fluorescent blue. They won't stain your hands and dissolve in 5-8 minutes. The way it looks this deal will be around for the foreseeable future, so all those who water-cool they systems will have a chance to get 'em. The company's called Bright Dyes and the free samples can be requested on their site, http://www.brightdyes.com. The specific link for the free samples is http://www.brightdyes.com/samples.html.

Have you ever wondered what makes a successful site and how the site makes tons of money??? Well the mofos at Mofos.Org has some infos on that! The victim? Boyyee Wonder of course! I wonder if he's gonna do one on us......:)

It's back to updating the Gallery I guess.....lot's of cool cases waiting for ya! Hang on there!

"So download the one ya want, get yourself a six pack of your favorite brew, then read our "Project Blowhole" article and CHOP UP THAT CASE in the name of better cooling! Besides, blowholes just look schweet!" Head over to OCAddiction to Download them for yourselves.

This is a very handy tool. Dam why did I not think of this? ***scratch head****

"Once in a while a product comes along that is almost perfect. People say; why didn't anyone think of this before? One such product is the Func Surface 1030 Mouse Pad. This is probably the last mouse pad you'll ever need to buy. Why would anyone want to spend $20 US on a mouse pad? Well first of all one should feel guilty calling this baby a mere mouse pad. It should be referred to as a high quality mousing surface. What's the difference? By doing a comparative analysis of a Ferrari and a Gremlin one can better relate the differences between a normal mouse pad and the Func Surface. From the ground up, this thing was designed to be the perfect surface and it shows."

OC Addiction has posted a page with full-scale PDF files for use as a blowhole template! Get the goods here.

"So download the one ya want, get yourself a six pack of your favorite brew, then read our "Project Blowhole" article and CHOP UP THAT CASE in the name of better cooling! Besides, blowholes just look schweet!"

Well Im still having major troubles trying to burn VCD's, thanx go to the guys who tried to help. I think I'll just kick it, shout a bit more then just go back to making audio CD's! I said I'd be back for a bit more news, well what's left in my tatterd inbox anyway. So here it is...

Iamnotageek (luv the name) have reviewed the Creative Labs GF2MX, the only MX that uses DDR (that I know of anyway). So is DDR an improvement? Check it out...... GF2MX Reviewage

The HOT INTERNET DEALS page from Chicks Hardware has been given a major update...

There are more sites on the page and more deals with the OCZStore. They have a voucher giving you $20 off a stick of 128Mb Enhanced PC150 222 RAM at the OCZStore, making that a stupidly low price of $69.99! RAM is REALLY cheap now, you should really check out the prices. To top it off, The Overclockerz Store have now new AMD bundles all using the new Abit KT7A-Raid motherboard based on the KT133A chipset!

This is a quick look at the entire GeForce2 chipset lineup and also a closer look at a company you will be hearing more out of in the coming year. Read on and find out how the power scales across the GeForce2 as well as who the guys are that building all those reference cards.

Im very very annoyed, my stoopid burner keeps making bloody coasters! I've been trying to burn this VCD all day long and Nero(v5), sets up nicely, starts the burn OK, it burns %1 then says "screw you guys, I'm going home". So I can't work it out for the life of me! So if any of you guys out there can shed some light, drop me a line here. Also I know Dice has already pimped the Virtualhideout IRC room, but I've been in here by myself for a while and have been having a really deep and meaingful conversation with @ChanServ, He's a good listener!! If you do make an appearnce in there and you come across a strange creature called "Nodebat" just walk away! It's an eveil little creature, half man/ half wombat. You know what time it is? Well technically it really is 17:32CDST, but it's really NEWS TIME.....

Now we all know that Dolby kicks major butt. I push a little button on my MEGA stereo and I go from crappy normal, el budgeto sound into a realm of sound that would give a sound engineer a woody! The guys at D-Silence give us a hint a a few things to come (Pro Logic II *drool*), but they also show us a bit of where Dobly has come from. A good read right here.

Sorry guys but Nero has stopped responding and I just know it's gonna bring down my whole machine so I gotta cut this news post short, stay tuned for more tho.

More Newz From The Hideout......Posted On Tuesday, 16 January, 2001 @ 10:30AM SGP Time by Diceman

"I know there are already a hundred reviews of the ABit KT7 out there, well here is number 101. The KT7 comes in two flavours, the KT7 and KT7-RAID. The only difference is that the KT7-RAID adds, you guessed it, an onboard RAID controller and ATA100 support. For this review we are testing the KT7. The ABit KT7 looks out for consumers that may have old ISA hardware, and don't want to update to the PCI version, this the only Socket A board with an ISA slot. This board boast's 1 AGP (4X), 6 PCI, & 1 ISA slots, with 3 DIMM slots that support up to a whopping 1.5GB of RAM, and it is completely jumperless,meaning that all the settings are controlled the boards Award BIOS. A nice feature of the BIOS is the SoftMenu III system which allows you to set a base FSB, which range from 100MHz up to 155MHz, then increase the FSB in 1MHz increments up to another 28MHz, for a possible total of 183MHz."

"The Apollo Pro 266 has the typical list of Alphabet Soup that we as Power Users have come to expect. ATA-100, AGP 4x, 133MHZ FSB and most importantly DDR SDRAM. Added support for onboard; 10/100 M-bits LAN, AC-97 Audio, MC-97 Modem make this a complete chipset solution for the OEM and budget PC class will still allowing Wire Heads the maximum opportunity to build a screaming machine. So now we have a chipset - all that's left is putting it on a quality motherboard. We fully expect Asus and Abit to make a motherboard that momma would be proud of. Lately however, there have been other manufacturers catering to us as Overclockers and to the OEM markets.

LITTLEWHITEDOG.COM has just completed a very comprehensive review on AVerMedia's AVerTV USB multimedia device. This device is packed full of features, and boasts a very impressive software package, but can it stand up to the performance challenge? If you've ever thought about getting a USB TV tuner for your PC you should definitely check out this review!

"We have spent a great deal of time so far dealing with the features and functions of the AVerTV USB Module, but have left the most important topic for the end - Performance. When discussing performance of the device I am speaking about 2 things here - Frame Rate and Audio / Video Synchronization. If your frame rates drop too low it will not be a very enjoyable viewing experience - if you want to know what I mean, try playing Quake III at 10 frames per second for a while..."

News Bit: "The biggest factor in performance though is your front side bus (FSB) speed. The faster the FSB, the better the memory performance. This is the only way to overclock Intel processors, whereas AMD processors rely more on adjusting the multiplier. Intel more or less defines their "value line" to use 66Mhz FSB, and their "performance line" to use 100/133 FSB. But for serious overclockers hitting 150+ FSB is just another part of every day life, and to hit these high FSB speeds, you need good quality ram."

Insane Hardware have just posted some specs and pics on Intel's new Pentium III, codenamed "Tualatin" This new processor is based on Intel's new copper .13 micron manufacturing process and will feature upto 512k of full speed on-die cache aswell as a 200MHz FSB using the i830 DDR chipset!

rizenet.com has posted a quick, 4-page review of Hercules' 3D Prophet II MX DualHead video card. Written on the assumption that we all know what an MX is, they cover the benchmarks & board-specific specs.

Tech-Gods has taken a look at Creative Labs' MX solution, the Annihilator 2 MX. Here's a snip:

"As you can see, MX based cards also have a lower core speed setting of 175MHz. The memory speed setting is at 166MHz giving the MX based cards a theoretical memory bandwidth of 2.7GB/s - almost half that of the GTS! With all these limitations, just what is the advantage of buying the MX? Cost of course! The lesser rendering pipelines mean less traces and smaller PCB's. The lower clocked speeds mean less heat and removes the need for active cooling (in most cases not even passive cooling). These changes to the GTS based chipset converts into massive savings."

Speedy 3D have just kicked up a review of the IBM Deskstar 75GXP 45GB Hard Disk Drive. Overall the drive performed quite well with only a few minor setbacks. Here's a little taster:

"The drive does run slightly warm (about 51 degrees C under load) without any active cooling applied, though this is to be expected from a 7200RPM drive. Some have hailed this drive as some sort of messiah to the ATA HDD world, unfortunately a messiah it is not. What it may be is a fast, solid performing drive with an exceptional capacity ceiling of about 75GB."

Well, im off to browse the IRC channel ( irc.enterthegame.com #virtualhideout) or maybe my buddies room ( #modem) Or maybe i'll see you in Team arena....

Are we talking bout American Football here?Posted On Tuesday, 16 January, 2001 @ 12:47AM SGP Time by Wolfie

Hey! Whatcha guys talking about dudes? Sounds to me like it's American Football, right? Anyway, never really seen much of it down here, so let's juz get on with da newz shall we?

Now it's my turn to pimp my l33t VH Case Badges! LOL! I got it in the mail when I got back from work a few hours ago, and I've gotta say, Doug from OC Badges makes on helluva badge man!

I bet you guys dun have the huge one huh?? Hehehe!Pic copyright Virtual Hideout

I like it so much, I even got one on my cellphone! LOL! Now, ain't that cool? All the cool kids are doing it, so should you!

OK. Enough self-pimpage here! First up the newslist is these schweet new deal over @ PC Toyz! They are bringing the OCZ Modified Duron 900 MHz down to $39.99. They also have a package deal going on, OCZ Performance Series Enhanced PC150 222 memory and the OCZ Modified Duron 900 MHz CPU for only $109.00! Now that's nice! Grab yours today!